I'm curious to see what kind of development goes in across Las Colinas Blvd from the Music Factory. I'd love to see a mixed use shopping area go in there to compliment the restaurants across the street.

Also, does anyone know why the canals and Lake Carolyn are so underutilized? You'd think there'd be all kinds of paddle boats, kayaks, etc out on the water! Why don't you see that?

Does anyone know what this is? Drove by Lake Carolyn Parkway. This plot of land is on Lake Carolyn, facing the Orange Line Urban Center stop. Lots of dirt moving. There had been a proposal, maybe a couple of years ago, for twin condo towers to go there. That fell through for whatever reason. I wonder if this is simply another apartment complex being built.

That is precisely what it is... A rather bland four story apartment complex. Nothing special here at all. There was a recent change that went through P&Z over the last few weeks, but it just barely expanded the number of units. It won't even be as dense as the complex on the other side of the station. A little disappointing.

That is precisely what it is... A rather bland four story apartment complex. Nothing special here at all. There was a recent change that went through P&Z over the last few weeks, but it just barely expanded the number of units. It won't even be as dense as the complex on the other side of the station. A little disappointing.

EDIT: If I remember correctly, there was a small area designated for 'cafe' or something like that. But, otherwise, it's strictly apartments.

The adjacent lot to the S also has a similar proposal going through approval process now. But I think it fills in the property a little better.

Thanks Kelly. I suppose five floors is better than four, but still seems a bit underbuilt. I also remember thinking there was too much stucco on this proposal. There was a proposal after the initial two tower proposal that I thought was really good. It had some nice, large, loft style condo's along the rail station. Bummer that never happened.

Kelley USA wrote:That's a great pic! I'm guessing we'll see maybe 3 or 4 cranes on the Pioneer site considering the scope of the development.

You nailed it... I now see three more crane bases in place for the Pioneer HQ alone. The interesting thing is... they all seem to be spaced equally distant away from eachother, about the length of the boom (if that's what it's called). So, while the temporary crane that erected the first tower crane is gone, it appears that they'll use the first to build the second, then the second to build the third, and so on. Makes sense, but I've never seen them do it in a linear fashion like that. Pretty cool.

The instagram account visitirvingtx just posted a bunch of videos from the (pre?)opening event that the new Whole Foods is hosting right now. Looks pretty nice (as is to be expected for a whole foods). For those that missed it: the grand opening for this location is tomorrow, 9/28. Finally!!

An interesting note from the previous City Council Special Session... Hillwood Development and DCURD (Dallas County Utility Reclamation District) are looking at options to "activate" the plaza at The Towers at Williams Square (where the Mustangs are). DCURD actually owns the plaza and Hillwood is the managing face of The Towers. DCURD wants to soften the plaza and make it much more inviting while Hillwood wants to add restaurant / retail space to the first level of the buildings. These projects would be done jointly. Water Street is sort of the catalyst for the idea. I think it would be awesome!

Kelley USA wrote:An interesting note from the previous City Council Special Session... Hillwood Development and DCURD (Dallas County Utility Reclamation District) are looking at options to "activate" the plaza at The Towers at Williams Square (where the Mustangs are). DCURD actually owns the plaza and Hillwood is the managing face of The Towers. DCURD wants to soften the plaza and make it much more inviting while Hillwood wants to add restaurant / retail space to the first level of the buildings. These projects would be done jointly. Water Street is sort of the catalyst for the idea. I think it would be awesome!

No doubt good news. That field of granite is an 80's relic, even if it has aged better than most. I always figured there was something underneath there (garage?) that would prevent too much change. Really curious what they have planned. But it would be great to activate the retail fronts along the plaza, and use the plaza changes itself to bring that activity over. I was kinda sad to see the big oaks removed along Oconner (and now Las Colinas), but man that has really opened up the area and encourages more interaction.On a nearby note... I always picture that those empty retail spaces along Las Colinas blvd (under the apartments) have large outdoor patios (think Trinity Groves) extended to the sidewalk. Greenery is nice and all, but those swathes of grass/bushes perform no function other than to isolate the retail.

Not sure what the market is for a high-end steakhouse, but seems like on the ground floor of The Towers would be a good fit (along with a coffee shop). I'm sort of imagining what the Crescent has done in Uptown. I'm still boggled that Starbucks / Dunkin hasn't leased a spot in Water Street.

Looks like Twisted Root is kicking the tires on Water Street again after backing out... They've also signed another restaurant for the front of the development- Cork & Pig. They have a location in the West 7th development in FW. Great restaurant!

I've also noticed that the construction fence around the northern end of Water Street is down and they've even got ceiling fans on in some of the units. Leasing office looked like it was almost ready as well. Hard to believe when you look at the other end of the site. I dig that dark brick color they have used as well... nice...

muncien wrote:I've also noticed that the construction fence around the northern end of Water Street is down and they've even got ceiling fans on in some of the units. Leasing office looked like it was almost ready as well. Hard to believe when you look at the other end of the site. I dig that dark brick color they have used as well... nice...

I stopped by the leasing office a couple a weeks ago: they’re preleasing for December. A lot of the interiors hadn’t been finished but it’s nice, as far as apartments go. Alesio has said they’re going to have water taxis to take residents to water street retail and the farmers market at water street.

The TMF launched a new website today- http://toyotamusicfactory.com Looks pretty good! I also went to Bar Louie the other night to meet some friends. Just FYI, if you go on a night when there's also a concert you have to pay $10 for parking (valet & self-park). I think that could hurt business in the long run on certain nights for a number of reasons. 1) You'll find a number of people simply decide to go to Water Street to save the $10. 2) I know quite a few people (especially girls) that carry absolutely no cash. They put everything on a credit card. 3) I've already seen people pull up to the valet and then leave when told it was $10.

I think Victory Park learned the hard way early on that charging people for parking was bad for business. I know it's only $10, but people are finicky about having to pay for parking.

^^^^Paid parking in Irving? Yikes! That'll be a tuff sell.If I'm not mistaken, there are concerts more nights than not... that could be a problem for all these restaurants in the long run. I suspect they depend on more than just concert goes for business.

Curious... Is the $10 something done by the operator to make money, or was it tied to agreements with the city, which funded nearly all the parking garages over there?

Yes, the parking fee have turned us off on many occasions. There are many times, we just want to stop by and grab some food.... but it is difficult to justify a $10 parking fee to do just that....especially in a suburb. One can easily go to Legacy West or Shops of Legacy and park in a many parking spaces for FREE.

Irving Music Factory needs to re-assess this "fee" if they want to boost their traffic to non-concert goers.

If you just want to eat at the Music Factory and not pay for parking, just park in the lot behind Jinbeh and walk. There are 100 parking spots behind there. I assume they'll be opening up a ton more parking once all the other buildings get built in the complex as well since I doubt anyone will ever want to pay $10 to park and go see a movie at Alamo Draft House.

Took the wife to Thirsty Lion last night as people were arriving for the Dave Chapelle concert and was pleasantly surprised to find that Thirsty Lion validates parking for two hours even during events. I don’t know about any of the other places but that seems like it will be standard for restaurants there during events. Also even with a long line of cars, the line moved pretty quickly.

The good thing about Thirsty Lion is their selection of alcohol and the fact that they have happy hour seven days a week and 9-close as well as 4-6. Bar food is pretty good.

Thanks for linking the article. The article states something interesting at the end, “Gables has even retained a small building site at the west side of Water Street where the developer could potentially add a high-rise.”

Note for those attending an event or dining/drinking at the Music Factory: I have it on good authority that if you want an Uber/Lyft ride, you have to walk all the way around to the 114 service road side. Security is not allowing pickups by the restaurants/bars at all. I can see this working for events/concerts, but just grabbing something to eat/drink then having to walk so far might be overkill to some (especially if the weather isn't agreeable).

jrd1964 wrote:Note for those attending an event or dining/drinking at the Music Factory: I have it on good authority that if you want an Uber/Lyft ride, you have to walk all the way around to the 114 service road side. Security is not allowing pickups by the restaurants/bars at all. I can see this working for events/concerts, but just grabbing something to eat/drink then having to walk so far might be overkill to some (especially if the weather isn't agreeable).

Looks like garage parking for restaurant patrons should always be available and free. Maybe it wasn’t open because of construction - grand opening isn’t technically until December.

I’ve walked around there. It’s a surprisingly small complex. The Uber drop off on the service road side didn’t seem far from anything else to me. Dress appropriately and it’s a pleasant short walk under most circumstances.

^^^^What intersection is that pictured? They mention Las Colinas/NW HWY/Promonade Pkwy, but those intersections are already spoken for (Texican Hotel). This corner looks very similar to the 'Jefferson Riverside' down the street, but obviously it's not the same. I assume one of these streets (the one on the left?) is the new (short) road extending from Promonade, and dead ending at the train station. But if that's the case, than this development isn't exactly 'across the street from the convention center'... It's another block to the east. Does anybody have more info?

muncien wrote:^^^^What intersection is that pictured? They mention Las Colinas/NW HWY/Promonade Pkwy, but those intersections are already spoken for (Texican Hotel). This corner looks very similar to the 'Jefferson Riverside' down the street, but obviously it's not the same. I assume one of these streets (the one on the left?) is the new (short) road extending from Promonade, and dead ending at the train station. But if that's the case, than this development isn't exactly 'across the street from the convention center'... It's another block to the east. Does anybody have more info?

I had to do some digging to find out the location myself. How hard is it to throw in a map?

It is between NW Hwy and promenade Pkwy. East of the dart station, on the far East side abutting the 'connecting canal'.

muncien wrote:^^^^What intersection is that pictured? They mention Las Colinas/NW HWY/Promonade Pkwy, but those intersections are already spoken for (Texican Hotel). This corner looks very similar to the 'Jefferson Riverside' down the street, but obviously it's not the same. I assume one of these streets (the one on the left?) is the new (short) road extending from Promonade, and dead ending at the train station. But if that's the case, than this development isn't exactly 'across the street from the convention center'... It's another block to the east. Does anybody have more info?

I had to do some digging to find out the location myself. How hard is it to throw in a map?

It is between NW Hwy and promenade Pkwy. East of the dart station, on the far East side abutting the 'connecting canal'.

I'm a little disappointed that the 'connecting canal' you mentioned hasn't had any pedestrian infrastructure added yet, or even planned for. The Jefferson Riverside acted like it was contaminated or something. I know the city initially told this developer (for Jefferson Promenade) that they need to better integrate with the water, but I also know the developer had reservations and I don't know where that ended up. It'll be a missed opportunity for sure if there is no easy pedestrian connection between the North and Central sections of Lake Carolyn. That DART connection (aesthetically revolting, but functional) does the hard work of getting under NW Hwy, but it seems nobody is willing to finish the connection even though it's a far simpler endeavor.

On a side note... I just happened to walk along this canal a week ago to check out the area. There's a little triangular shaped property (currently owned by DART) just east of your marker, that is wedged between the canal, the Orange Line tracks, and Promenade Parkway... That lot is not suitable for development at all, but would make an awesome little dog park accessible from the promenade (if extended along this canal), and would provide something badly needed for all the pet owners in the Urban Center. The fact that the lot is a grade below the street level makes it easily adaptable for a dog park, as opposed to a regular park which you'd want to expose to the street more. I have no idea if there are any plans for that lot (I doubt it), but I'd love to see them pursue something like that...

mwaskow wrote:This should be a correct map showing the recent boom in development in the Las Colinas area around Lake Carolyn. Would love to see some more vertical development next on the waterfront.

Thank you for this map! Honestly, I mostly ignore this thread, because I don't know the area that well, and I get confused trying to figure out where all the development is going on at the moment, but this helps tremendously. Looks like a lot is happening, but still plenty of room to grow too. This will be a very cool area, once it's all said and done, and having quick DART access to the airport as well as Downtown is a pretty cool plus.

I checked out Bar Louis within the Music Factory this evening. I really could not believe how busy this and Thirsty Lion were on a Tuesday at 5:15pm. I believe there was an event since they had signs for 'event parking', but it must have been small because they had the interior doors shut on the pavilion. The prices at Bar Louis during happy hour are awesome... $3.50 for ALL beers (including crafts), half off appetizers, and Tuesday is Burger night ($5)... That may explain why it was so busy... I don't know.Parking was a breeze. The server gives you a little piece of paper with a bar code on it that works as validation so you don't have to pay anything. The fact that a vast majority of the stuff isn't even open yet, and this place is already rocking, is a very good sign for Las Colinas. This is the first time the 'Urban Center' actually felt kinda 'urban'. LOL. Other than the rush to leave after 4th of July fireworks, I've never seen so many cars and folks walking about. With Water Street opening just around the corner, it seems this sleepy development is about to wake up in a big way.

^^ Yea, if you walk around to the other side of the building you can look up and into where Alamo will be. There's a little bit of work that's been done but it's still basically a shell. YardHouse seems to be a getting a bit closer. I would say YardHouse might be open mid-January.

The Terraces of Las Colinas / Shops of Las Colinas is coming before P&Z tonight for final action. So hopefully this is a good sign that the development is moving forward. This is the Market Street anchored development that also shows Hopdoddy, Chuy's, Lazy Dog, Super Chix, Torchy's and a few others on the site plan.

It also looks like Sleep Number is going before P&Z to take over the old Pollo Tropical space in the Whole Foods shopping center.

Kelley USA wrote:The Terraces of Las Colinas / Shops of Las Colinas is coming before P&Z tonight for final action. So hopefully this is a good sign that the development is moving forward. This is the Market Street anchored development that also shows Hopdoddy, Chuy's, Lazy Dog, Super Chix, Torchy's and a few others on the site plan.

It also looks like Sleep Number is going before P&Z to take over the old Pollo Tropical space in the Whole Foods shopping center.

Thanks for the update... I was beginning to think we got suckered on that 'Terraces' dealio just so they could get approval for more single family which wasted no time in getting underway. lol

And I can't help but shake my head on the Sleep Number deal... Isn't there one just up the street on 635?

They kind of all run together, but that's a Sleep Experts up on 635. Sleep Number tends to be a tad more upscale. There is one at Grapevine Mills, Shops of Southlake, Park Lane in Dallas... Might be a good fit for this development. I was never actually a fan of having a fast food drive-thru there.